NHTSA Complaint #10474139 — 2002 SATURN LS

THIS IS THE SAME ENGINE FOR WHICH THERE HAS BEEN THREE SEPARATE INVESTIGATIONS BY NHTSA CAUSED BY LACK OF OILING TO THE TIMING CHAIN. THE BROKEN TIMING CHAIN CAUSED DAMAGE TO 4 VALVES AND SEVERAL ROLLERS AND OTHER PARTS IN THE ENGINE. THE CAR IMMEDIATELY STOPPED RUNNING AND WOULD NOT RESTART. THE REPAIR SHOP SHOWED ME THE SMALL OILING ORIFICE FOR THE TIMING CHAIN, AND SHOWED ME THE UPGRADE KIT THAT GM ISSUED WITH A MUCH LARGER OPENING FOR OILING THE CHAIN - ALSO, THE CHAIN AND OTHER PART ARE STRONGER THAN THE ORIGINAL PARTS. GM ISSUED A RECALL FOR SOME OF THESE ENGINES, BUT NOT FOR MY VEHICLE DESPITE THE FACT THE ENGINE IN MY CAR HAD THE SAME DEFECT. MY BROTHER'S SATURN ALSO HAD THE SAME TIMING CHAIN PROBLEMS, BUT SINCE HE WAS TRAVELING AT HIGHWAYS SPEEDS, HIS ENGINE WAS BEYOND REPAIR. GM USES VARIATIONS OF THE SAME ENGINE IN MANY OF THEIR VEHICLES, SO IT IS PROBABLE THAT THERE ARE MANY MORE DEFECTS THAT HAVE GONE UNREPORTED IN OTHER GM VEHICLES. THESE REPAIRS ARE EXPENSIVE - MORE THAN $3,000. GM NEEDS TO ANSWER WHY SOME DEFECTIVE ENGINES WERE RECALLED, AND OTHERS WERE NOT, AND GM SHOULD REIMBURSE OWNERS WHOSE CARS HAVE BEEN DAMAGED BY THIS DEFECT. GM SAID ONLY SOME ENGINES WERE AFFECTED, BUT THE ENGINE IN MY SATURN WAS CLEARLY, AND UNMISTAKABLY DEFECTIVE - I SAW IT, AND THE REPAIR SHOP CLEARLY SAW THE DEFECT. *TR